Inkwell



July 1, 1930- T. F. LEAHY 1,769,299

INKWELL Filed Feb. 10, 1927 Patented July 1, 1930 ,U ED STATES PATENT OFFICE:

Thomas F. Lmnnon CHICAGO, rumors, assienon'ro mnnrcanno'rnr. nrzers'rnn 00., on ourcneo, ILLINOIS, A oonroaa'rron or ILLINOIS INKWELL Application filed February 10,1927. Serial No. 167,080.

This invention relates to pen holder and ink well constructions of the type wherein the pen holder when not in use is adapted. to be mounted in a handy position on the ink well forming a stopper for the ink well, and with the pen in the ink ready for instant use.- in constructions of the above type, such as used in the past,'has been the smearing of the 0 ink over the lower portion of the holder and the soiling of the hand when the pen was being used. the above mentioned type, particularly where the lower portion of the pen holder was adapted to act as a stopper, thelatter usually ecame incrusted with ink to such an extent, that it would stick in the well and not infrequently result in the splashing of ink upon the sudden loosening and withdrawing of the holder. I It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a construction of the above tvpe in which the pen holder'ismounted in a andy os'ition on the ink well withthe pen in the ink when not in use, the lower portion of the holder acting to seal the entrance of the pen to the well in a manner which will, to a consiierable extent, prevent evaporationof the It is also an object of this invention to provide a construction of the above type in which thelower portion of the pen holder acts as a stopper of the entrance for the pen to the well, the said holder and entrance being so constructed that the stick from an accumulation of ink thereon or in the'entrance. 1 I It is further an object of this invention to provide .a construction of the above type in which the entrance for the pen to the ink well is so constructed that a minimum of the ink which may be splashed on the side of the entrance will come in contact with the holder. Another object of my invention is to provide a construction of the above type in which the pen is provided with a stopper adapted to support the pen inthe well with the point of the pen in the'ink and a flared guard above er to prevent the ink'from soiling th the stop hand 0 a person u'singthe'pen.

"One of the principal difliculties obtaining In some of-theoonstructions of aperture holder is not likely to end of the ferrule 16 abuts the lower face of other and furtherobjects are accomplished by providing a construction and arrangement of the various parts in the manner herein after described,and particularly pointed out in theappending claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fi 1 is a plan view of an ink well embodying this invention and with the pen removed-,".

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken at the line 12 of Fig. 1, and showingthe pen in elevaion, v Fig.3 is 'an'enlargedvertical section of the supporting block for the pen removed from the ink well, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view taken from the end of the ferrule for the pen holder.

Referring to the drawings more particularly, numeral 5 refers generally to the ink well, which in this instance is in' the form of a prismatic block of glass, having a well 6 therein adapted to contain ink, and a supplemental well 7 adjacent to and joining said well 6. The main; well 6 is normally closed by a cover 8 having a depending flange 9 around its edges adapted to surround a raise shoulder 11 at the upper edge of said well. The block 5 is provided with a recess 12 above the supplemental well 7 to receive a separable block 13 in the entrance thereto.

The block 13 is preferably made of a suitable com osition, such as bakelite, and is as at 10 to provide the entrance to the supplemental well 7 for thepen 151 and is adapted to support send pen in a handy po- -sition withthe point thereof in the ink.

The pen 14 is provided. with a flared. guard 15 near its lower end and a ferrule 16 preferably of bakelite below said guard, said ferrule acting as a stopper to sealthe entrance to the well 7, in order that the ink thereinwill not evaporate when the pen is not in use. A circular shoulder 17 of a' diameter less than thatofthe guard'15 and formed at the upper said guard and its lower face in turn rests upon a circular shoulder 18 formed in the block 13 at-the upper end of the aperture 10. ard 15 being separated from the shoul-.

a diameter less 109 The gu der 18 by the shoulder 17 of than that of the guard ink is less likely to reach the pen holder above the guard than if the latter contacted said shoulder 18 directly or the shoulder 17 were of as large a diameter as said guard. For the same reasons the fingers are less apt to come in contact with ink. The shoulder 18 is formed at the bottom of a circular recess 19 in the upper end of the block 13 for receiving the shoulder 17 and the guard 15. A cylindrical serrated portion 21 of very slightly reduced diameter is formed on the ferrule 16 directly below the shoulder 17, its axis being preferably normal to the plane of the shoulder and in coincidence with the axis of the pen. The portion 21, together with said shoulder 17 cooperates with the shoulder 18 of the block 13 to form a seal therewith for reducing the evaporation in the well. The shoulder 17 and portion 21 thus have very little area actually in contact with the shoulder 18.

As a further precaution, in order that as little area of the ferrule may come in contact with the block 13 as possible, so as to reduce any tendency of the ferrule to accumulate ink, the said block is provided with an outwardly flared and bulged portion 22 beneath the shoulder 18, the lower end of the aperture 10 being considerably larger than the upper end thereof and the ferrule 16 is provided with an inwardly tapered or reduced portion 23 directly below the portion 21 thereof and normally adjacent the bulge or flare 22. The reduced portion 23 extends bxtween the portion 21 and a circular rim 20 at the lower end of theferrule and said rim is adapted to contact the inner wall of the entrance to maintain the pen in predetermined sloping position where it may be conveniently grasped by the hand of the user. Thus the pen may be maintained in the desiredsloping position at a predetermined depth in the entrance with the pen in the ink in such a manner that the pen does not touch the entrance of the well and therefore cannot smear the entrance. The shoulder 18, it is to be noted,

is at the outer end of the entrance to the well and forms except for the very reduced area of contact afforded between the rim 20 and the inner walls of the entrance, the principal contact between the entrance and the pen. By this construction not only is the pen point kept from smearing the entrance as much as possible but any ink that may possibly become lodged within the entrance is kept from smearing the ferrule and from reaching the hands of the user above the flared guard 15.

The ferrule 16 and the block 13 as above stated are preferably of bakelite as this substance does not retain ink as does hard rubber for instance, and at the same time is flexible enough to be capable of withstanding rough usage as when the pen is, roughly inserted in the well.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the construction provides an efficient combination of an ink well and n in which the pen, when mounted in the we 1 is always ready for use, and at the same time forms a stopper for the well, which stopper is not likely to stick in the -well, but cooperates with the block 13 to form an efiicient mounting for the pen;

While in the above construction I have described one embodiment-which my invention may assume in practice, it will of course be understood that the same is capable of modification and that modification may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. In combination, an ink well having an opening in its upper portion and a closure member therefor, a cylindrically walled pas-' sage through said member the upper end of which is surrounded b an annular seat whose axis is inclined, a pen -older having an annular shoulder and surface thereon normal to the penholder axis adapted to fitsnugly without wedging on said seat and having below the shoulder a short serrated cylindrical surface adapted to fit snugly without wedging within said cylindrical walled surface when the penholder is squarely seated in a predetermined inclined position for preventing movement of the penholder laterally of its axis and longitudinally downwardly a downward extension on said closure mem er, a reduced portion of the penholder below said serrated surface having contact, when the penholder is squarely seated, with a surface on said extension at any of a plurality of points about the circumferential surface of said reduced portion equi-distant from its axis.

2.121 combination, an ink well having an opening in its upper portion and a cover therefor, the cover having a,recess in its top surface, an inwardly extending annular shoulder at the bottom of the recess, a cylindrically walled passage through said recess within said shoulder, the top face of said shoulder being a plane surface inclined at an angle to the horizontal, a penholder having an annular shoulder the bottom face of which is adapted to seat flatly on said top face forming therewith and with the penholder ferrule a seal-for said passage, the penholder above its said shoulder being flared outwardly therebeyond forming a finger guard, a ferrule just below the penholder shoulder having serrations whose outer surfaces coincide with a common cylindrical surface coaxial with the penholder and of a diameter causing the serrations to fit snugly without wedging contact surface on said cover below said shoulders to balance the Eenholder in a passage sealing position at t same inclination in any position of the penholder in angular 5 rotation about its own axis.

In Witness of the foregoing I afiix my signature.

THOMAS F. LEAHY. 

